What is dead may never die. E3 may finally be gone for good but his spirit lives on at Summer Game Fest. Hosted by the creator of The Game Awards Jeff Keighley, the event kicks off in June and promises teasers, trailers and world premieres for the biggest games of tomorrow and beyond. Here’s every gaming conference, demo and live stream happening in and around Keighley-palooza 2024.
Now in its fourth year, Summer Game Fest has become the third pillar, between Gamescom Opening Night Live and The Game Awards, in Keighley’s annual dominance of video game advertising. Based in Los Angeles but unrelated to the city’s convention center, the behemoth that housed E3s of old, the event continued to draw other publishers and smaller gaming showcases into its gravitational well. The Summer Game Fest main show takes place live at the YouTube Theaterbut it also streams on every social media platform you can think of.
Sony decided to sneak its summer showcase early with State of Play on May 30. And while Nintendo is rumored to be preparing a big Direct for mid-June, the Mario maker has yet to announce any concrete plans. Even without these two platforms, which long ago ditched E3, early June is packed with other gaming conferences focused on everything from the work of small indie teams to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Below is a full schedule of every event outside of E3 and Summer Game Fest happening next month.
Thursday, June 6
Guerilla Collective will take place at 1:00 PM ET and will feature a range of upcoming indie games. Now in its fifth year, the showcase will include Hollow blood, Combo devils, and a bunch of other upcoming projects. It’s a great time to check out smaller games that don’t usually get the spotlight during bigger marketing blitzes in the video game industry. Where to watch:
Friday, June 7
Accessible summer showcase begins at 11:00 a.m. ET. Whitethorn Games, PlayTonic and Fiction Factory Games are among the studios that will be featured, with each featured game highlighting its accessibility options available to players. Laura Kate Dale will host alongside guests including Arevya and SightlessKombat. Where to watch:
Summer Game Festival, the main showcase of the summer, follows later in the day at 5:00 PM ET. There will be dozens of creators, studios, and publishers showcasing games. 2K Games promises the reveal of the next entry in a beloved franchise, which it certainly sounds like BioShock 4. Knowing host Jeff Cayley, a celebrity or two will also make an appearance, along with a third of the show blocked off exclusively for Hideo Kojima to speak Death Stranding 2 or literally anything else he wants. Where to watch:
Developers Day will happen right after Summer Game Fest live. Hosted by DoubleFine and iam8bit, the showcase tends to be one of the best indie events of the year, giving developers a platform to talk about their amazing ideas and the games that bring them to life. It’s the perfect antidote to hours of glamorous world premieres. Where to watch:
Devolver Direct ends the day at 8:00 PM ET. The publisher traditionally delivers an amazing showcase, attempting to poke fun at video game press conferences while still offering its products for your GameStop pre-order and Steam wishlist enjoyment. Action-RPG Heaven never and rag doll physics People fall apart 2 are among his upcoming releases. Maybe the Dennaton Games will finally be announced Hotline Miami 3. Where to watch:
Saturday, June 8
The future of Play Direct kicks off the day at 11pm ET for a top secret showcase hosted by AI v-tuber Melios the Android. The Toonami-inspired event will feature reveals from Trinket Studios (Brigade combat chef) and Studio Pixel Punk (Immature), as well as many other developers. watch it YouTube.
Healthy directly kicks off an hour later at 12pm ET with a focus on games that are off the bloody AAA shooter trail. It promises “a vibrant line-up of artistic, uplifting and emotionally resonant games from developers of all sizes from around the world.” 70 games will be featured, with previous GOTY hits Venba, Unpackingand Chicory: A colorful tale. Where to watch:
Showing games in Latin America airs at 1 p.m. ET. The event “seeks to increase the visibility of video games being developed in the LATAM region and Latin America in the world” and lasts about an hour. Where to watch:
Games led by women Summer Games Fest follows at 2:30 p.m. ET. With dozens of participants, the showcase aims to “highlight all the amazing things women are doing in gaming and support their efforts to create a more equitable gaming industry.” Where to watch:
A show for future games date ends at 3:00 PM ET. Gamesradarthe annual summer event of will be hosted by Red Dead Redemption 2Arthur (Roger Clarke) and Final Fantasy VII RebirthTifa (Brit Baron). Where to watch:
Sunday, June 9
Introducing Xbox Games is scheduled for 12:00 PM ET. The only platform holder still anchoring the non-E3 festivities, Microsoft will have a lot to prove after massive layoffs earlier this yearincluding the closure of the beloved Hi-Fi Rush and Evil Within studio, Tango Gameworks. Xbox Game Studios has been in the process of being acquired and cooked up for years, with nothing to show for it yet. Now that Blizzard is part of the company, perhaps we can expect more details about Diablo IV‘c Court of Hate the expansion is expected to launch later this year. New Middle Ages doom and Gears of War 6 (now simple Gears) are also rumored to be making an appearance, but fans will also be eager to find out what happens with the new a fable, Perfect darknessand State of Decay 3. Where to watch:
Black Ops 6 Direct will take place immediately afterwards. Mirroring the presentation Bethesda gave last year Starfieldthis looks to be a deep dive into the upcoming sequel and what players can expect from his story campaign of the Persian Gulf War eramultiplayer mechanics and whether Modern Warfare 3 skins they’ve spent hundreds on will carry over. The game is now confirmed to be coming to Game Pass, although it remains to be seen if players will have to pay extra for “early access”. Where to watch:
Computer game show ends the afternoon at 4:00 PM ET. The annual PC gamer the event has been great in years past at showcasing PC-centric games, from strategy games and sims to deck builders and roguelikes, which historically haven’t gotten much attention during E3. There will be dozens of games shown alongside interviews with the developers behind them. Hope to hear more about Citizen Sleeper 2. Where to watch:
Monday, June 10
Ubisoft Next is set to close out the non-E3 and Summer Game Fest carnival at 3pm ET. The French publisher will have a lot to show this year between the highly touted open-world game set in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars Outlawsand his latest historical stealth RPG, Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We’ll also likely hear updates on the many current games in Ubisoft’s portfolio, such as Division 2, Rainbow Six Siegeand For honor. Maybe there will be a few surprises as well. Who is ready for a new one Rayman? Where to watch:
